This verse of scripture sounds simple enough, but often even a familiar text needs some explanation.
Something needing an explanation makes me think of the following little story:
Illus: There was a criminal who was put in prison. The prison life had many new and different aspects. One of the things he noticed about the prison life, was that often a prisoner down the row would call out a number such as "38", and everyone would laugh.
Things would get quiet and some¬one else would call out another number such as "18", and then all the other prisoners would laugh again.
He kept hearing them call out, "23", "35", "74", and each time laughter would follow.
He turned to his cell¬ mate and asked, "Can you please explain to me what the numbers stand for and what is so funny?"
The cell mate said, "You see, we have been here so long that we have told the same old jokes over and over. Now, rather than to tell them over again we decided to number them and every time they call a number we know what the joke is for that number and we laugh."
This sounded like a pretty good system to the newcomer. Every¬thing got real quiet again so he thought he would try his hand at it. He called out, "13!", but no one laughed. He called out “57” and no one laughed.
He once again turned to his cell mate and said, "Why didn't they laugh?" The cell mate said, "Some people just don't know how to tell a joke."
Our scripture text probably sounds like something you have heard many times before. But just in case you don't know the contents by number, please let me explain.
I. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT EVERY¬ONE CAN BE SAVED
There are many wonderful scriptures in the Bible that tell us that everyone in this congregation can be saved. Not just some, BUT EVERY ONE OF US!
There is a group called the Hyper-Calvinists that say that is not so. They actually believe and teach that that God created some people for Heaven and some for Hell.
How could anyone love a God that would be so wicked and cruel as to create someone for eternal damnation? And if this was true, how could God claim to be a God of love?
The Bible clearly teaches that God intends for everyone to be saved.
• Look at Romans 10:9, we read, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
• Look at John 3:16, we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
God’s Word teaches clearly that everyone can be saved.
Romans 10:13 is the clearest of all the verses in the Bible. We read, “For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The word “Whosoever” means exactly that, “Who-so-ever”.
But there is something else in Rom. 10:13 we need to look at. We need to consider these words, “…shall be saved.”
SAVED FROM WHAT?
(1) SAVED FROM HELL
Hell was never prepared for mankind. The Lord Jesus came to save everyone so they would not have to go to that terrible place.
The Bible teaches that Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. Look at Matthew 25:41, we read, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Hell was not prepared for anyone here, but God created us with the ability to CHOOSE and if a person chooses to go there it is THEIR CHOICE. Hell was prepared for the DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS.
If anyone goes there they are going to have to walk on the blood of Jesus to get there. The Lord Jesus came to save everyone from this terrible place called Hell!
I can assure everyone here that if you are one of those who go there, there is not one thing about that place you will like.
Illus: As my grandmother and I were walking towards the United Nations Building in New York City, we came upon a street evangelist who was trying to get the attention of passersby. He urged those near him to flee from the wrath to come.
• "I warn you," he roared, "that there will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!"
• An old woman in the crowd shouted snidely: "Sir, I have no teeth!"
• "Lady," the evangelist retorted, "teeth will be provided!"
(Matthew Thomas, Jr., Lynchburg, VA. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.")
Even though there will be degrees of punishment in Hell as there will be degrees of rewards in heaven, HELL IS A PLACE OF PUNISHMENT.
Illus: The story is told about Mac the pilot, who died at the controls of his plane and went to pilots' hell, where he found a hideous devil and three doors.
The devil was busy escorting other pilots to various "hell rooms."
"I'll be right back--don't go away," said the devil, and he vanished.
• Sneaking over to the first door, Mac peeked in and saw a cockpit where the pilot was condemned to forever run through pre-flight checks. He slammed that door because he hated to do pre-flight checks and certainly did not want to do them for eternity.
• He peeked into the second. There, alarms rang and red lights flashed while a pilot had to avoid one emergency after another. This door did not appeal to him either.
• Unable to imagine a worse fate, Mac cautiously opened the third door. He was amazed to see many beautiful flight attendants answering a captain's every whim.
He quickly returned to his place seconds before the devil reappeared.
• "Okay, Mac," said the devil, "Which door will it be, number 1 or number 2?"
• "Um, I want door number 3," answered Mac.
• "Sorry," said the devil. "You can't have door number 3. That's flight attendants' hell."
Hell is going to be terrible for anyone who goes there.
Illus: A few housewives were sitting around the table talking, and the subject turned to their husbands. One lady said, "My husband just won't go to church with me so I think he's going to go to Hell." This provoked talk around the table and it was generally agreed that, for one reason or another, all the husbands were going to end up in Hell.
Then the housewives started speculating about themselves.
• One woman said "I try to be good so I'm sure I'll make it to Heaven."
• Another one said " I did a bad thing, I know I won't make it."
• Then they noticed that one of the ladies wasn't saying anything. They looked at her and said "You're such a nice lady, surely you're going to Heaven...?" She says "No, first thing in the morning, I'm going to buy me a ticket straight to Hell!" They were shocked and asked why. "Well, you don't expect me to live in a world without men, do you???"
The Bible clearly teaches that Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. Anyone who goes there is going to go as a trespasser. The Lord Jesus died on the cross so we can be saved from that awful place. But the words, “shall be saved” also implies we are-
(2) SAVED FROM SIN
Many feel that Romans 10:13 simply teaches that all one has to do to be saved is slow down on their sinning and call on the Lord, and they will be saved.
That is not what this scripture is teaching. You see, every¬one wants to be saved from a burning Hell, but there are many who do not want to be saved from sin.
This verse of scripture teaches us two things:
• God saves us from Hell
• God saves us from sin
Many want to be saved from Hell, but not from sin. BUT GOD SAVES US FROM BOTH or NONE AT ALL!
God’s Word says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That is salvation from SIN and HELL!
We see that EVERYONE CAN BE SAVED, but we also see that …
II. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SAVED
Someone might be saying, “Preacher, you are contradicting yourself, you just said God will save EVERYONE but now you are saying God will not save some!”
This is true, HE WILL SAVE EVERYONE who comes to Him, but there are some who do not want to be saved.
A. HE WILL NOT SAVE THE PROUD
Why won’t He save the proud? Because the proud trust in their riches to save them not the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 19:16-22 tells the story of such a man who came to Jesus asking, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have, eternal life?"
Jesus told him to keep the commandments. The man then asked which ones should he keep and Jesus listed them:
• "Thou shalt do no murder
• Thou shall not commit adultery
• Thou shall not steal
• Thou shalt not 'bear false witness
• Honour thy father and thy mother
• Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
With pride in his heart and a smile on his face, the young man said, "All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?"
That is one question you don't want to ask the Lord unless you mean business -- "What lack I yet?" He will tell you.
Jesus knew that morally speaking this young man was OK, but the Lord also knew his trust was in his riches. Jesus said, ''If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in heaven: and come and follow me.”
The Bible tells us that after Christ told him that, "...he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions."
God cannot save those that have their trust in themselves or in what they possess. God cannot save those who won't trust in the finished work of Calvary.
Before Jesus died, He spoke three wonderful words, "It is finished." He had paid the complete price for our sins.
Illus: Back in the old days, men would help each other build houses. One man moved into a new com¬munity, and the fellows came to help him. As time went by, the other fellows began to build, and this one that they had helped would not return the courtesy. Finally, this man went to a neighbor's house (which had been under construction) after a great battle with his guilty conscience, but the man saw him coming and yelled, before he ever got to him, "It is finished, I have driven the last nail. You can go back home now!"
Listen friend, on Calvary's tree Christ paid the full, the complete price for our sins and there is not one thing we can do to add to our salvation. But, you must believe that this was done for you personally, and trust in Jesus.
Illus: The rich young ruler said, "...what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" He did not know Jesus had to do it all. All there was left was for him to give Christ first place in his life.
Illus: The story is told of one tent revival meeting in a certain town. All week long God dealt with a certain man to become a Christian. But he let the opportunity pass each night. Finally the meeting was over and the tent was being taken down. That sinner, under conviction, rode by and pulled in. He ran to the Evangelist and said, "What must I do to be saved?" The Evangelist said, "It is to late!" The sinner cried, "What do you mean, 'to late'? Is it because you are folding up your tent?" The evangelist said, "No, It is to late for you to do anything to be saved because Christ did it all almost 2000 years ago. The only way that you can be saved is to cry out for mercy.”
There are others that God will not save…
B. HE WILL NOT SAVE THE IGNORANT
There are some folks who believe that those who have never heard the gospel will not die and go to a devil’s hell.
Listen, if folks could be saved without hearing the gospel, why would we be sending missionaries to preach the gospel to them? If that was the case, then IGNORANCE would be a Savior.
Romans 10:14, we read, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
Ignorance is a terrible thing, it has never saved anyone.
Illus: One man said he recently went to McDonald’s and saw that you could have an order of 6, 9, or 12 chicken McNuggets. He asked her for a half-dozen McNuggets.
"We don't have a half-dozen McNuggets," said the teenager at the counter."
The man said, "You don't?"
She said “No, we only have 6, 9, or 12."
"So I can't order a half-dozen McNuggets, but I can order six?"
"That's right." He shook his head and ordered six McNuggets.
Ignorance has never saved anyone, it only embarrasses people.
Listen, ignorance has done a lot of things, but it has never saved anyone. And God has never saved a person who has never heard the gospel.
The Lord will not save PROUD PEOPLE WHO ARE TRUSTING IN THEMSELVES, nor will he save IGNORANT PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL.
C. HE WILL NOT SAVE THE PROCRASTINATOR
If God let some people live to be 300 years old, they would put off accepting Christ for 300 years.
They may have the best intentions of getting saved, but they never seem to get around to doing it.
PROCRASTINATION ROBS US OF SUCCESSFUL SERVICE.
Luke 9:59-62 “And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
Procrastinators may have the best of intentions, but they will be filled with excuses until the day they die. They have thousands of excuses they can generate at a moments notice.
I. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT EVERY¬ONE CAN BE SAVED
II. THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL BE SAVED
